Graveyard
by MoonsweptGirl
Summary: Sometimes she doesn't want the others to know how much in pain she really is, but she can't hide it from him.


How many times had she been back here?

It wasn't healthy, even she knew that. It was almost dangerous to think about. The tomb stone stood proud in front of her with words carved against the stone. It didn't matter how many times she had come, or how many times she had stared at the words; they still didn't make any sense to her. This entire place didn't make any sense to her.

They told her it would be easier to push the pain away.

They said that she would soon learn to live with it, but after three years, the pain was still there. Just as fresh as ever. It seemed like it was something she would never be able to heal. It felt as if half of her laid beneath the dirt six feet under.

Why? She wanted to scream the words, but Wanda couldn't get anything passed the rock that was lodged in her throat.

She felt the tears running down her cheek and she glanced away from the grave and looked up towards the sky. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining down warmly at her, as if trying to make her feel better and not a single cloud could be seen. It wasn't always like this. Sometimes the days were cold, sometimes they were rainy, and sometimes they weren't so lonely.

Usually Steve would come with her and stand a couple feet away, giving her privacy yet also letting her know that he was there. That he had her back. Wanda didn't know how or why the soldier decided to take on the role of her protector. Part of her wondered if it was because he felt guilty about how everything happened. Another part of her wondered if it was because he saw a little of his old self in her.

It was different the way Steve looked out for her compared to how Clint did. Or how Vision did. They all watched her in different ways. Steve looked at her like a little sister in need of protecting. Clint thought of her as one of his own kids, while Vision thought of her as someone who was sort of like him. Different.

She didn't know how she got this family, when she lost what was left of her other. Sometimes she would close her eyes and imagine Pietro there, whispering to her about Stark, or Clint, or anyone really. Wanda wished that he could be there to enjoy this family with her.

A sigh escaped her lips and she looked back down to the grave. Wanda raised her hands and wiped the tears away with the sleeves of her hoodie. Lately she had taken to wearing hoodies and hats when she went out. It was getting harder and harder to be able to go out in public without anybody noticing who she was.

Pietro would have loved it.

A branch snapped behind her and she spun around quickly, hands glowing as she prepared herself for a fight. Bucky stood there with his hands slightly raised, showing he meant no harm. He attempted to give her a small smile and shrugged his shoulders, apologizing for startling her.

"You should make noise when you approach someone," she told him as she relaxed her stance. Wanda brushed her hair out of her face and let out a shaky breath as she tried to get herself under control. Lately she had been more jumpy than ever. It was getting harder to sleep at night and her powers were getting harder to control with the lack of sleep.

"Sorry," he said, his eyes glancing at the grave behind her before coming back to rest on her face. "Steve was getting worried about you. He wouldn't stop calling me."

Wanda raised an eyebrow at him, "So he sent you to come fetch me?" she couldn't help the bitterness leak into her voice.

The others had been noticing how she had been acting lately and how her powers had been getting out of hand.

Bucky narrowed his eyes at her, his own protectiveness of the soldier reared his head before he caught himself, "You weren't answering your phone and he's out with Sam doing something. If not he would have come himself."

Wanda nodded before glancing at the grave over her shoulder once last time, "Okay."

He didn't know why she looked so defeated in that moment. Suddenly she didn't look like the Scarlet Witch that fought beside him on the battlefield. Instead she looked like a scared kid with her arms wrapped around herself as if they were the only things holding her together.

Bucky knew that feeling well.

"Do you come here alot?" he asked softly.

Wanda looked up at him in surprise, usually he wouldn't say much to her, or to anyone unless they were Steve. Though Stark would try like hell to get rises out of him every now and then.

"I do," she said with a small smile, "Usually Steve or Clint come with me."

Bucky nodded, not taking his eyes off of her. He could see how tired she looked. It felt like he was looking in a mirror. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed that she looked just like him after a night of nightmares haunted him.

"Do you mind if I join you sometimes?" he asked and nearly flinched at the question, but he kept his face blank and hoped that she wasn't somehow reading his mind. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure on how her powers worked and he wanted to ask her. He found he wanted to ask her more about everything.

"Sure," she said uncertainly, "Wouldn't it bore you?"

"No," he said as he glanced around, "It's almost peaceful here."

"That's because the dead can no longer judge you or worry you."

Bucky nodded, she was right. "We should get home before Stever sends out the entire team in search of us." He didn't want to tell her how his phone had been buzzing like crazy in his pocket for the last couple of minutes.

Wanda smiled at him and stepped closer. It felt odd, the smile. It had been a while, but she had noticed the same thing about his eyes that he had seemed to notice in hers. It almost felt comforting knowing that she wasn't the only one. Her shoulder brushed gently against his metal one. She had expected it to feel cold, instead it just felt warm like the sun.

"Let's go," she said and held her hand out to him.

Bucky looked at it for a moment before grabbing it with his. Together they made their way back home, both of them covered in hoodies with hats and sunglasses covered their faces.

Tony didn't stop teasing them for a full week when they walked in the door that day.


End file.
